You can watch today's press
conference on the air right here on
your Hometown Station. It is scheduled
to begin at 1:30. We will also be
streaming it live on our website at
WDBJ7-dot-com.
END INET END INET

The National Weather Service reports
hail the size of quarters -- and
mountainous areas were expecting up to
two feet of snow.
*CG locator Morrison, CO Meanwhile, officials believe snow
caused a 50- ton boulder to land on a
highway yesterday outside of Denver.
ENG#=4 SOT FULL

SOT FULL I was coming up the hill here heard
INQ=I was coming up the hill some rumbling and looked seen a couple

of small rocks and then a large boulder
was coming I started to stop when I got
stopped I looked out of my rear view
mirror and took a picture of it I'm
just thankful to God that myself and no
one else got killed .
RUNS=19 (END SOT)

An elevator at the 750- feet high
Tower of the Americas malfunctioned
yesterday-- stopping halfway up.

San Antonio firefighters climbed
through the top of the elevator to
rescue four people who were were
trapped for three hours.
ENG#=2 (SOT FULL)
SOT FULL

INQ=We're very fortunate

*CG 2line Carlton Quick
Tower Property General Manager Carlton Quick/Tower Property GM:We're
very fortunate and happy that we were
able to get them off safely and that no
one has had any substantial injuries

Lynchburg, but most residents will end
up seeing a bigger tax bill next year.
ENG#=3 VO-NAT
VO-NAT

*CG locator Lynchburg

City council yesterday voted to set
the real estate tax rate at a
dollar-five per 100-thousand dollars of
assessed value.

That's a six-cent reduction from
the current rate ... but since most
people's homes have increased in value,
they'll be paying more.

Some council members felt cutting
the rate by six cents wasn't enough.
ENG#=4 SOT FULL

SOT FULL

INQ=We're pretty fiscally

*CG 2line Jeff Helgeson
Lynchburg Council Member
:00
*CG 2line Joan Foster
Lynchburg Mayor JEFF HELGESON/LYNCHBURG COUNCIL MEMBER:
:13 WE'RE PRETTY FISCALLY STRESSED ALREADY.
WE'VE SEEN REPORT AFTER REPORT AFTER
REPORT AND OUR CITIZENS HAVE SAID
'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. CITY, PLEASE LIVE
WITHIN YOUR MEANS.' AND I WISH WE COULD
DO THAT TODAY.

JOAN FOSTER/LYNCHBURG MAYOR: WE'RE
LOOKING AT DOING THE BEST WE CAN. I
KNOW THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING, TRYING TO
GET THE SERVICES FOR OUR CITIZENS AND
TRYING TO GET THEM A LITTLE BIT OF
BREAK WITH THE PROPERTY TAX.
RUNS=25 (END SOT)

OQ=with the property tax.

VO-NAT VO-NAT

The city is also eliminating the
Common Goods Fee, which amounts to
about 50 dollars a year per resident.

Citizens will get to have their say
during public hearings next month.
(END VO) (END VO)

by the generosity people have shown for
the victim's and their families.

Justin McLeod brings us up to date on
the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.
ENG#=1 SOT FULL

SOT FULL

INQ=

*CG locator Blacksburg
:00

*CG 2line Ray Smoot
Virginia Tech Foundation
:27

*CG standup Justin McLeod
jmcleod@wdbj7.com
1:30

RUNS=1:46 (END SOT)

OQ=jm, news 7. <

4:45:07))

As the Virginia Tech campus gets back
to a sense of normalcy, people from all
over are stopping by to look at the
memorials and to give money to the
Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.
SOT FULL 4:27:04 SOT FULL

INQ=We have literally RAY SMOOT/VIRGINIA TECH FOUNDATION: WE

HAVE LITERALLY BEEN CONTACTED FROM ALL
OVER THE WORLD.
RUNS03 (END SOT)

OQ=over the world The Virginia Tech Foundation which is

overseeing the fund says so far 80% of
the donations have been made over the
internet, somewhere in between eight to
ten thousand donors.

We're told workers are now just
getting to the money sent by mail.
SOT FULL 4:26:35 SOT FULL

INQ=We have received RAY SMOOT/VIRGINIA TECH FOUNDATION: WE

HAVE RECEIVED WORD FROM VARIOUS
CORPORATE GIFTS WE'VE RECEIVED WORD

FROM SOME INDIVIDUAL GIFTS THAT ARE IN
THE SIX FIGURES.
RUNS09 (END SOT)

OQ=the six figures Some of the money has already been

used to pay for a memorial service and
for transportation so the Marching
Virginians could travel to Georgia for
one of the funerals.

The foundation is also taking care of
the victims and their families.
SOT FULL 4:30:49 SOT FULL

INQ=The Student Affairs RAY SMOOT: THE STUDENT AFFAIRS

DIVISION HAS A STAFF MEMBER ASSIGNED TO
THE FAMILIES TO EACH VICTIM AND THAT'S
THE CONDUIT FOR INFORMATION BACK TO US
ON THE IDENTIFICATION NEEDS THAT THOSE
FAMILIES MAY HAVE.
RUNS13 (END SOT)

OQ=families may have Long term, Virginia Tech is taking a

wait and see approach on how to
disperse the rest of the funds.

The university first wants input from
the families and the college community.

There are a number of options being
discussed, including a permanent
memorial on campus.
SOT FULL 4:29:58 SOT FULL

INQ=Certainly we've had RAY SMOOT: CERTAINLY WE'VE HAD A LOT

OF INQUIRIES ABOUT ENDOWED MEMORIAL

SCHOLARSHIPS AND THE NAMES OF THE
VICTIMS AND WE'RE THINKING AND WE'RE
THINKING THROUGH HOW WE MAY USE THE
HOKIE SPIRIT FUND TO HELP ACHIEVE THAT.
RUNS11 (END SOT)

OQ=to help achieve that

SOT FULL SOT FULL

INQ= JUSTIN McLEOD/REPORTING: VIRGINIA TECH

SAYS OFFICIALLY THE FUND IS WELL OVER A
MILLION DOLLARS BUT CORPORATE PLEDGES
WILL PUSH THAT MORE INTO THE SEVERAL
MILLION DOLLAR RANGE. WE ALSO
UNDERSTAND SEVERAL CORPORATE DONORS
HAVE INDICATED IT WILL MATCH ANY DOLLAR
AMOUNT THE FOUNDATION TAKES IN. JUSTIN
McLEOD, NEWS 7.
RUNS= (END SOT)>>

A-B-C says it was unable to agree
on a contract with the outspoken host.

Rumors have circulated for months
that O'Donnell wanted to leave the show

to revive the talk show she hosted for
several years.

Since joining "The View," O'Donnell
has been a lightning rod for criticism
after a long running feud with Donald
Trump AND for saying she thought the
federal government may have been behind
the attacks on September 11th.
(END VO) (END VO)

Former Virginia Tech football
player Justin Hamilton - who is now
with the Cleveland Browns - has donated
$50 thousand dollars to help families
through his Foundation.

Yesterday, Justin talked with us
from his home in Ohio.
ENG#=1 SOT FULL

SOT FULL

INQ=BITE

RUNS=:28 (END SOT)

OQ=...IN THE FIRST PLACE."

VO-NAT VO-NAT

Hamilton spoke to all of his
Browns teammates yesterday .

He's also spreading the word
around about the league through his web
site - justin hamilton foundation dot
org, and through fellow Hokies who are
on other teams in hopes of helping
these families in any way possible.

Classic - Should I Stay or Should I Go
to be blaring in the barracks at VMI,
but..
ENG#=3 VO-NAT
VO-NAT

*CG locator Lexington
2006-07 Season Reggie Williams, who led all of
division 1 in scoring at 28 points per
game, is making himself available for
the N-B-A Draft. The Junior will not
hire an agent, leaving open the chance
to return for his Senior Season.

Williams is the first player in
V-M-I basketball history to declare
early for the Draft
(END VO) (END VO)

OQ=News 7 Sports. << In Lacrosse Each Game and Each
(END SOT) Possesion starts the same way, with a

Face-Off. At Roanoke College their
Main Man fighting for possession on the
Face-offs is Billy Cameron a Junior
from Salem High School. He has won 61
Percent during the Regular Season.

(BILLY BITE:)

(PILAT BITE:)

(STANDUP: Cameron's ability to turn
around a game was on display earlier

this season against Lynchburg with the
Maroons trailing by 4 goals with less
than a minute to play, Cameron won 4
straight face-offs including the first
in overtime, then scored the game
winning goal. If Lynchburg had won a
single face-off in that stretch, the
Maroons would have come up short.

(BITE:)

Cameron also serves as a
Rand-McNally for his teammates that
need to get around Salem in addition to
showing local Lacrosse kids their is a
path to playing for the Maroons. In
Salem Grant Kittelson N7SPORTS.